Dear readers,
the topic of this unit is alternative energies, and, in connection to it, I would like to talk this time about the big problem of plastic, because in a way, it all has to do with the same basic problem: its terribly negative human impact on the planet.
With me and my family, this concern started last year, around the same dates asknow now. My partner is a vegan, and a Bulgarian friend of mine who lives in Gent was visiting. This friend, Petya, is very keen discussing on all kind of social and political issues, and so is my partner. So they started talking about the negative impact that growing cattle has on the environment.
(Have you ever heard about that? Did you know that cow burps and farts are full of methane, which is a gas that promotes global warming? This post explains it very well:
https://ideas.ted.com/methane-isnt-just-cow-farts-its-also-cow-burps-and-other-weird-facts-you-didnt-know-about-this-potent-greenhouse-gas/ )
It is not the only reason why Diego turned vegan, he is mainly vegan because of animal suffering, but we will leave this topic for another post. The thing is, Petya reacted to this argument against meat eating by saying "and what about plastic? Don't you think that the extremely high amount of plastic and non recyclable waste is a bigger problem than cows farting and burping?".
Well, I replied by saying that a counterargument based on proposing another pollution problem is not really fair. It is as if a policeman gives me a fine for driving too fast and I say "yes, ok, I was driving too fast, but what about all these drivers that did not respect the Stop sign over there?".
However, it made us think. We realized that plastic waste is indeed a really serious problem. And that plastic industry is one of the most dangerous lobbies that has ever existed. We did then some research on the terrible consequences that plastic overuse and overproduction have on the planet, and on us.
the topic of this unit is alternative energies, and, in connection to it, I would like to talk this time about the big problem of plastic, because in a way, it all has to do with the same basic problem: its terribly negative human impact on the planet.
With me and my family, this concern started last year, around the same dates as
(Have you ever heard about that? Did you know that cow burps and farts are full of methane, which is a gas that promotes global warming? This post explains it very well:
https://ideas.ted.com/methane-isnt-just-cow-farts-its-also-cow-burps-and-other-weird-facts-you-didnt-know-about-this-potent-greenhouse-gas/ )
It is not the only reason why Diego turned vegan, he is mainly vegan because of animal suffering, but we will leave this topic for another post. The thing is, Petya reacted to this argument against meat eating by saying "and what about plastic? Don't you think that the extremely high amount of plastic and non recyclable waste is a bigger problem than cows farting and burping?".
Well, I replied by saying that a counterargument based on proposing another pollution problem is not really fair. It is as if a policeman gives me a fine for driving too fast and I say "yes, ok, I was driving too fast, but what about all these drivers that did not respect the Stop sign over there?".
However, it made us think. We realized that plastic waste is indeed a really serious problem. And that plastic industry is one of the most dangerous lobbies that has ever existed. We did then some research on the terrible consequences that plastic overuse and overproduction have on the planet, and on us.
Source https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/gallery/horrifying-images-show-devastating-impact-11589617
So, we decided to reduce our plastic use to the maximum minimum. We looked for more information, and we found shops in our area and community which do try to avoid plastic and to promote buying in bulk (such as Unpacked and Granel in Madrid, or El granero de Tina in El Escorial), we substituted plastic whenever it was possible for other materials (check this post for instance: http://plasticpolluters.org/alternatives-to-plastic/), and so on. And this is when we realized that fully eliminating plastic from our lives was almost impossible...we are still trying!
We buy in bulk as much as we can
We buy in glass or paper packaging as much as we can
We say no to plastic bags whenever we are offered one...
But there is still so much more to be done!
And you, are you trying to reduce your plastic use? Share your experience with us, every little bit counts!
